WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/478/Add.1 
13 October 2006 
 
 (06-4943) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:  English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  INFORMATION FROM 
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS 
 
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE PROTECTION  
OF NEW VARIETIES OF PLANTS (UPOV) 
 
Addendum  
 
 
 At its meeting of 14-15 June 2006, the Council for TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organization observers to the Council to update th e information on their technical and financial 
cooperation programmes relating to the impl ementation of the TRIPS Agreement.   
  The present document reproduces the inform ation which has been received from the 
International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) by means of a 
communication dated 3 October 2006.   
 
_______________ 
 
 I. INTRODUCTION 
1. The membership of UPOV has expanded wo rldwide, with many new members from 
developing countries and countries in transition to a market economy.  As of 8 October 2006, the 
number of UPOV members will have reached 62.   Moreover, 18 countries and one regional 
intergovernmental organization
1 have initiated with the Council of UPOV the procedure for becoming 
members of the Union.  There are also 48 other countries2, which have been in contact with the Office 
of the Union with a view to developing legislation in line with the UPOV Convention. 
2. Accordingly, there has been an increase in the number of requests received from developing 
countries and countries in transition to a market economy for legal and technical assistance in the 
preparation and implementation of plant variety prot ection legislation.  In light of their emerging 
                                                      
 1 Armenia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Georgia, Guatemal a, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, 
Malaysia, Mauritius, Serbia and Montenegro, Tajikistan , The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, 
Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe, as well as the African Intellectual Proper ty Organization (Benin, 
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, 
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo (18)).  
 2 Algeria, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Barbados, Burundi, Cambodia, Congo (Democratic Re public of), Cuba, 
Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, Ghana, Gr eece, Guyana, Indonesia, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, 
Jamaica, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Li byan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mongolia, 
Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Saud i Arabia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, 
Thailand, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Em irates, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen, Zambia. 
 IP/C/W/478/Add.1 
Page 2  
 
  needs, UPOV places great importance on legal and te chnical assistance activities, subject to available 
financial and human resources.   
3. There is a demand-driven need to assist UPOV members that have acceded to the Union in 
the more recent past in the implementation of their UPOV-based system of plant variety protection.  The aim is to enable them to fully enjoy the bene fits and economic incentives the system is able to 
generate.  In the UPOV Program and Budget for the 2006-2007 Biennium, the Council of UPOV 
approved a sub-program in relation to services to members of the Union, with the following objectives: 
• To maintain and improve the quality of protection provided by the UPOV system. 
 
• To provide and develop the legal and techni cal basis for international cooperation in a 
harmonized approach to plant variety protection according to the 1991 Act of the Convention.  
 
4. UPOV, as the leading institution in all matters of  plant variety protection, has the obligation 
to provide assistance and advice to those countries having decided to become members of UPOV.  For 
this purpose, in the UPOV Program and Budget for the 2006-2007 Biennium, the Council of UPOV also approved a sub-program to assist possible fu ture members of the Union with the following 
objectives: 
• To assist governments in implementing an effective plant variety rights system. 
 
• To assist governments, particularly governme nts of developing countries and countries in 
transition to a market economy, in the preparation and enactment of legislation conforming with the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention. 
 
5. UPOV has organized several assi stance activities, some of them in cooperation with UPOV 
members and other international organizations, particularly the World Intellectual Property 
Organization (WIPO).  They have been carried out for the benefit of developing countries as well as 
other countries, since the policy is that assistance  should be provided where it is most needed to 
implement plant variety protection effectively.  UP OV now organizes various forms of workshops, in 
conjunction with its Technical Working Party sessions, in order to give additional training 
opportunities to new and possible future members of UPOV. 
 
II. PROVISION OF LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL ADVICE AND INFORMATION  
6. UPOV provided advice to States and certain intergovernmental organizations on plant variety 
protection laws, commented on draft texts and, on re quest, assisted in preparing drafts of national 
laws and regulations.  During recent years, it h as provided assistance or advice on these matters to 
numerous developing countries. 
7. From 1 January 2005, to 30 September 2006, the Office of the Union provided information, 
advice or assistance and, in some cases, organi zed advisory missions, to  the following States and 
intergovernmental organizations:  IP/C/W/478/Add.1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  African/Arab 
 Asia/Pacific Latin America/ 
Caribbean Countries in 
Transition to a 
Market Economy 
Bahrain Afghanistan Antigua and Barbuda Albania 
Burundi Bangladesh Argentina Armenia 
Cameroon Cambodia Barbados Azerbaijan 
Congo (Democratic Republic of the) China Bolivia Bulgaria 
Egypt Democratic People's 
Republic of Korea Brazil Georgia 
Ghana India Chile Kyrgyzstan 
Iraq Indonesia Colombia Lithuania 
Jordan Iran (Islamic Republic 
of)  Costa Rica Montenegro 
Kenya Lao People's 
Democratic Republic Cuba Republic of Moldova 
Libyan Arab 
Jamahiriya Malaysia Dominica Romania 
Mauritius Mongolia Dominican Republic Russian Federation 
Oman Myanmar Ecuador Serbia 
Saudi Arabia Nepal El Salvador Tajikistan 
Senegal Pakistan Grenada Uzbekistan 
Sudan Philippines Guatemala  
Syrian Arab 
Republic Singapore Honduras  
Uganda Sri Lanka Jamaica  
United Arab 
Emirates Thailand Mexico  
Zimbabwe Turkey  Nicaragua  
OAPI (African 
Intellectual Property Organization) Viet Nam Panama  
SADC (Southern 
African Development Community)  Paraguay  
  Peru  
  Saint Lucia  
  St. Kitts and Nevis  
  St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines  
  Trinidad and Tobago  
  Uruguay  
  Venezuela  
 IP/C/W/478/Add.1 
Page 4  
 
  III. SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS, TRAINING COURSES  
8. UPOV organized and cooperated in the organi zation of national seminars on plant variety 
protection.  UPOV has also organized internati onal seminars and extended courses for developing 
countries on subjects related to plant variety protection. 
9. UPOV has provided speakers and lecturers for seminars, workshops and training courses 
organized by other organizations or governments to assist with national efforts in the preparation and 
implementation of plant variety protection legisla tion and to promote intern ational understanding of 
plant variety protection. 
10. UPOV, in cooperation with WIPO, has launched a distance learning programme with the aim 
of providing a clear understanding of plant breeders'  rights under the UPOV Convention.  Part (c) of 
the Annex provides the number of students who were provided with training free of charge. 
11. UPOV members continued to cooperate with the Office of the Union in the organization of 
practical training for indivi duals or courses for groups. 
12. Seminars, workshops and training courses organized by UPOV or supported by UPOV, 
from 1 January 2005, to September 30, 2006, ar e summarized in the Annex to this document. 
   IP/C/W/478/Add.1
 Page 5 
  ANNEX 
 
SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING COURSES ORGANIZED OR SUPPORTED BY UPOV 
FROM 1 JANUARY 2005 TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2006 
 
Date Venue Co-organizers, sponsors Activities Participants 
(a) Meetings organized/co-organized by UPOV  
2005     
18 February  Phnom Penh, 
Cambodia Ministry of Industry, Mines and 
Energy (MIME) of the Kingdom of Cambodia National Seminar on the Protection of 
New Varieties of Plants under the UPOV Convention Experts from the Ministry of 
Industry, Mines and Energy, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Royal University of Agriculture 
21 February  Hanoi,  
Viet Nam Ministry of Agriculture and 
Rural Development of Viet Nam National Seminar on the Protection of 
New Varieties of Plants under the UPOV Convention Experts from the Ministry of 
Agriculture and Rural Development 
23 and 24 February  Managua, 
Nicaragua Secretaría de Integración 
Económica Centroamericana (SIECA), Proyecto de Propiedad 
Intelectual SIECA-USAID, 
Ministerio de Fomento, Industria y Comercio de Nicaragua (MIFIC), Registro de la Propiedad Intelectual de 
Nicaragua y del Proyecto de 
Fortalecimiento de la Gestión del Comercio Exterior (BID) Seminario Regional sobre el Sistema 
UPOV (Énfasis en el Acta de 1991) para la Protección de las Obtenciones 
Vegetales Costa Rica, Guatemala, 
Honduras, Nicaragua  
  IP/C/W/478/Add.1 
Page 6 Date Venue Co-organizers, sponsors Activities Participants 
15 March  Yaoundé, 
Cameroon African Seed Trade Association 
(AFSTA) and the African 
Organization for Intellectual 
Property (OAPI) Workshop on the protection of plant 
varieties Participants at Annual Congress 
of AFSTA from Angola, Benin, 
Botswana, Burkina Faso, 
Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, 
Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, 
Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia 
8 to 10 May  Karaj, Islamic 
Republic of Iran Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture 
of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the 
International Center for 
Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan West and Central Asian Regional 
Workshop on Plant Variety Protection under the UPOV Convention and its Relationship with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and 
Agriculture Participants from Afghanistan, 
Azerbaijan, France, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan 
12 May  Aleppo, Syrian 
Arab Republic General Organization of Seed 
Multiplication, Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian 
Reform of the Syrian Arab 
Republic Briefing on plant variety protection under 
the UPOV Convention Participants from the Government 
of the Syrian Arab Republic 
16 and 17 May  Ankara, 
Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and 
Rural Affairs of Turkey National Seminar on Plant Variety 
Protection under the UPOV Convention Participants from the Ministry of 
Agriculture and Rural Affairs, 
other institutions, seed companies  
   IP/C/W/478/Add.1
 Page 7Date Venue Co-organizers, sponsors Activities Participants 
5 June  Nitra, Slovakia  Preparatory Workshop to Technical 
Working Party for Vegetables (TWV/39) Participants from Brazil, Bulgaria, 
France, Israel, Japan, Mexico, 
Netherlands, Poland, Republic of 
Korea, Slovakia, United Kingdom  
12 June  Ottawa, 
Canada  Preparatory Workshop to Technical 
Working Party on Automation and 
Computer Programs (TWC/23) Participants from Canada, China, 
Germany 
20 June  Washington 
D.C., 
United States of America  Preparatory Workshop to Working Group 
on Biochemical and Molecular 
Techniques, and DNA-Profiling in Particular (BMT/9) Participants from Argentina, 
Canada, China, Denmark, Japan, 
Republic of Korea, Spain, Ukraine, United States of America 
8 to 12 August  Santa Cruz de 
la Sierra, Bolivia Oficina Española de Variedades 
Vegetales (OEVV), Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI), WIPO, 
FAO Cuarto Curso de Formación para Países 
Iberoamericanos Sobre la Protección de las Obtenciones Vegetales y el Acceso a los Recursos Fitogenéticos para la 
Agricultura y la Alimentación Participants from Argentina, 
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,  Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, 
Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, 
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela 
25 and 26 August  Jakarta, 
Indonesia Ministry of Agriculture of the 
Republic of Indonesia, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan National Seminar on the Protection of 
New Varieties of Plants under the UPOV Convention Participants from the Plant 
Variety Protection Office, Indonesia, Ministry of Agriculture, government agencies, universities, seed 
companies 
29 August to 2 September  Singapore Intellectual Property Office of 
Singapore (IPOS), 
the Agri-Food and Veterinary 
Authority of Singapore (AVA),  Sixth Asian Regional Technical Meeting 
for Plant Variety Protection Officials from Bangladesh, 
Cambodia, China, India, 
Indonesia, Lao Peoples' 
Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal,  
  IP/C/W/478/Add.1 
Page 8 Date Venue Co-organizers, sponsors Activities Participants 
Ministry of Agriculture, 
Forestry and Fisheries of Japan Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore,  
Sri Lanka, Thailand and 
Viet Nam, International Rice 
Research Institute (IRRI), International Tropical Fruits Network (TFNet), seed industries 
4 September  Kôfu, Japan  Technical Workshop and Preparatory 
Workshop for the Technical Working Party for Fruit Crops (TWF/36) Participants from Argentina, 
Brazil, China, European Community, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, 
Philippines, Republic of Korea, 
Slovakia, South Africa, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe 
11 September  Seoul, 
Republic of Korea  Technical Workshop and Preparatory 
Workshop for the Technical Working Party for Ornamental Plants and Forest Trees (TWO/38) Participants from Australia, 
Canada, European Community, Germany, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, 
South Africa, United Kingdom 
30 October  Christchurch, 
New Zealand  Preparatory Workshop for the Technical 
Working Party for Agricultural Crops 
(TWA/34) Participants from Argentina, 
Brazil, European Community, 
New Zealand, Ukraine 
6 November  Shanghai, 
China Asian and Pacific Seed 
Association (APSA) APSA-UPOV Workshop on plant variety 
protection Participants from the seed 
industry and government officials 
from among others China, India, 
Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam  
   IP/C/W/478/Add.1
 Page 9Date Venue Co-organizers, sponsors Activities Participants 
13 November  Dubai, United 
Arab Emirates Ministry of Agriculture and 
Fisheries of the United Arab 
Emirates; 
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) National Seminar on the Protection of 
New Varieties of Plants under the UPOV 
Convention 15 officials from the Ministry of 
Agriculture and Fisheries 
2006      
8 May  Bangkok, 
Thailand Department of Agriculture 
(DOA) Thailand, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan 
(MAFF) National Workshop on the Protection of 
New Varieties of Plants under the UPOV Convention 50 participants from the DOA, 
dept. of intellectual property of the Ministry of Commerce, lawyers, researchers 
11 June  Guanajuato, 
Mexico  Preparatory Workshop to Technical 
Working Party for Vegetables (TWV/40) Participants from Brazil, China, 
European Community, Japan, 
Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, 
South Africa 
18 June  Nairobi, 
Kenya  Preparatory Workshop to Technical 
Working Party on Automation and 
Computer Programs (TWC/24) Participants from Japan, Kenya, 
Romania, Russian Federation, 
United Kingdom 
2 July  Beijing, China  Preparatory Workshop for the Technical 
Working Party for Agricultural Crops (TWA/35) Participants from Argentina, 
Bulgaria, China, Japan, Poland, Republic of Korea, Spain, United Kingdom 
11 July  Geneva, 
Switzerland  Conference in the Intellectual Property 
Summer School of the WIPO Academy Participants from 32 countries  
  IP/C/W/478/Add.1 
Page 10 Date Venue Co-organizers, sponsors Activities Participants 
20 August  Salvador, 
Bahia State, 
Brazil  Preparatory Workshop for the Technical 
Working Party for Fruit Crops (TWF/37) Participants from Brazil, China, 
Japan, Mexico, Poland, 
Republic of Korea 
27 August  Fortaleza, 
Ceará State, 
Brazil  Preparatory Workshop for the Technical 
Working Party for Ornamental Plants and 
Forest Trees (TWO/39) Participants from Brazil, Canada, 
France, Israel, Mexico, 
Netherlands  
15 to 18 September  Dushanbe 
 Ministry of Agriculture of the 
Republic of Tajikistan, the 
Swedish International 
Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the MAFF of Japan West and Central Asian Regional 
Workshop on Plant Variety Protection 
under the UPOV Convention Participants from Afghanistan, 
Azerbaijan, Iran, Jordan, 
Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, 
Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan 
21 and 22 September  Bishkek State Agency of Intellectual 
Property of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Swedish International Development 
Cooperation Agency (SIDA) 
and the MAFF of Japan National Workshop on Plant Variety 
Protection under the UPOV Convention Participants from Kyrgyzstan 
(b) Meetings for which UPOV provided speakers  
2005      
7 to 11 March  Limbé, 
Cameroon African Intellectual Property 
Organization (OAPI) Workshop on the implementation of plant 
variety protection  OAPI officials, experts from 
Cameroon, Senegal, etc. 
12 May  Aleppo, Syrian 
Arab Republic International Centre for 
Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) Briefing on plant variety protection under 
the UPOV Convention Researchers from ICARDA  
   IP/C/W/478/Add.1
 Page 11Date Venue Co-organizers, sponsors Activities Participants 
22 and 23 August  Tokyo, Japan Japan International Cooperation 
Agency (JICA) Training Course on the Protection of Plant 
Breeders' Rights Participants from Argentina, 
China, Kenya, Philippines, 
Viet Nam, Zimbabwe 
29 and 30 November  Antalya, 
Turkey Turkish Seed Industry 
Association; 
Seed Unit & WANA Seed 
Network (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria International Seed Conference Seed traders, breeders from 
Turkey and neighbouring 
countries 
2006      
17 March  Brasilia, Brazil Ministry of Agriculture, 
Livestock and Supply of the 
Government of Brazil National Seminar on the Impact and 
Developments of Plant Variety Protection 
under the UPOV Convention Government officials, participants 
from the private sector, 
participants from the research sector (approx. 35 in total) 
15 to 19 May  Lusaka, 
Zambia Southern African Development 
Community (SADC); Iowa State University; International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid 
Tropics (ICRISAT) II SADC Regional Workshop on Plant 
Breeders' Rights Under the UPOV Convention 30 participants from the SADC 
Member States 
31 July to 4 August  Maputo, 
Mozambique Southern African Development 
Community (SADC); 
Iowa State University; 
International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) III SADC Regional Workshop on Plant 
Breeders' Rights Under the 
UPOV Convention 30 participants from the SADC 
Member States 
29 August to 1 Sept  Tokyo, Japan Japan International Cooperation 
Agency (JICA) Training Course on the Protection of Plant 
Breeders' Rights Participants from Brazil, China, 
Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Senegal, Thailand 
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  (c) Countries/Organizations and number of stude nts who received free training in the 
UPOV Distance Learning Program in th e sessions September 2005, February 2006, 
September 2006 
 
Country Session Session Session 
 Sep-05 Feb-06 Sep-06 
Albania 2   
Argentina 3  1 
Austria   1 
Belarus 1 2  
Bolivia 1  11 
Bulgaria 2 1  
Brazil 4  12 
Cambodia 1  2 
CGIAR   1 
Chile 1  4 
China 4  7 
Colombia   7 
Congo   1 
Costa Rica   1 
Côte d'Ivoire   1 
Croatia  3  
Cuba   1 
Czech Republic  4  
Denmark   1 
Dominican Republic   1 
Ecuador  1 5 
Egypt  1  
Estonia  3  
European Communities 2  2 
France   6 
Georgia   1 
Germany   1 
Greece  1  
Guatemala   2 
Honduras   1 
Hungary   1 
India   2 
Indonesia 2 1 3 
Iran (Islamic Republic of)   1 
Israel  1  
Italy   1 
Jamaica 1   
Kazakhstan   1 
Kenya 2   
Lao People's  
Democratic Republic   1 
Malta  1  
Mauritius  1  
Mexico 2  12  IP/C/W/478/Add.1 
 Page 13 
 
 
  Country Session Session Session 
 Sep-05 Feb-06 Sep-06 
Myanmar   2 
Nepal   1 
Netherlands 2 2 3 
New Zealand 1   
Nicaragua   3 
Panama  1 2 
Paraguay   2 
Peru   1 
Philippines   2 
Poland 2 2  
Portugal  1  
Republic of Korea  10  
Republic of Moldova   4 
Romania  1 1 
Russian Federation  1  
Saudi Arabia 1   
Serbia and Montenegro 1   
Singapore   2 
Slovenia   1 
South Africa 1 4  
Spain  5 3 
Sri Lanka   1 
Switzerland   1 
Tajikistan   2 
Thailand   5 
Trinidad and Tobago  2 1 
Tunisia   3 
Ukraine 4   
United Kingdom  1 6 
Uruguay  1 2 
Uzbekistan 1  2 
Viet Nam   4 
WIPO   1 
    
Totals 41 51 147 
 
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